Projecting Chicago Bears' Most Heated Roster Battles This Offseason
The Chicago Bears have added an influx of new talent to their roster this offseason, and many of those new faces will be competing for significant roles in 2015.
While the starters at quarterback, running back and cornerback appear to be set in stone, many positions will be up for grabs this offseason.
The team added a lot of fresh faces in free agency, particularly on defense, and many of the team's toughest battles in minicamps and training camp will take place on that side of the football. While the starting cornerback duo may be set with Tim Jennings and Kyle Fuller, many of the other positions on defense appear to be wide open.
On the offensive side of the football, most of the starters are already in place, but a handful of backup positions are currently available.
Just ahead, we project some of Chicago's most heated roster battles this offseason.
6. Return Man
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The Bears had one of the best return men in NFL history from 2006 to 2013 in Devin Hester, but the team struggled to replace him last season.
In eight seasons in Chicago, Hester returned five kickoffs for touchdowns and 13 punts for touchdowns, but the team decided to let him explore free agency last offseason, and he signed a three-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons.
With Hester out of the picture, the team used four different punt returners and four different kick returners last season with mixed results.
Former CFL star Chris Williams was expected to be a suitable replacement for Hester on kickoffs, and while he did return one kickoff for a touchdown, he struggled with his decision-making and eventually lost the job to veteran Marc Mariani.
Mariani signed with the team in November and returned 20 kickoffs for 510 yards. He was not flashy, but he was consistent. Because of his experience he is the front-runner for the job in 2015.
One intriguing name for the returner position is undrafted free agent Levi Norwood. He averaged 20.2 yards per kick return and scored two touchdowns as a punter returner in his career at Baylor. According to NFL.com, he ran just a 4.57 and 4.64 40-yard dash at his pro day, but he possesses good vision and has the ability to make tacklers miss.
New special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers explained over the weekend that the return man job is wide open, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com:
"I’ve coached bigger guys, smaller guys, faster guys—the ball security thing is always going to be a common trait. But we’re going to scheme our return stuff based on whatever the player does well. That’s still yet to be determined. Whoever that guy is going to win that job in training camp and into the season, they realize they are competing with everyone else on the roster. They realize they’re competing with the guys league-wide who are on rosters. And someone will emerge in that role.
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Norwood has a lot of upside and potential, but he will need a stellar training camp and preseason to beat out Mariani.
Projected Winner: Marc Mariani
5. Backup Tight End
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Unless the Bears decide to trade Martellus Bennett this offseason, the former Pro Bowler will sit atop Chicago's depth chart at tight end once again in 2015. He hauled in 90 catches for 916 yards and six touchdowns last season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bennett played 981 snaps on offense, while backups Dante Rosario, Matthew Mulligan and Blake Annen combined to play 350 snaps (with Rosario playing 323 of those snaps).
In Marc Trestman's offense last season, Rosario was used primarily as a blocker, but he only played about one-third of the time. In Chicago's new scheme under offensive coordinator Adam Gase, the backup tight end may have a bigger role.
Gase ran Denver's offense last season, and all three of the Broncos' tight ends played significant snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, Julius Thomas, Virgil Green and Jacob Tamme combined to play 1,405 snaps. Thomas led the way with 715 snaps, while Green played 403 and Tamme, 287.
Bennett will likely play a similar number of snaps this season as he did last season, but if Gase implements a similar offensive scheme in Chicago as he did in Denver, Chicago's backups should see an increased workload.
This offseason the team re-signed Rosario and Zach Miller, signed Bear Pascoe, claimed Chris Pantale off waivers and signed undrafted free agent Brian Vogler to go along with Annen and Jacob Maxwell, who were already on the roster.
In total, the Bears have seven tight ends on the roster who are set to compete for the No. 2 spot behind Bennett.
Rosario and Pascoe are the front-runners to claim the backup spot behind Bennett because of their experience as blockers, but Pantale has an outside chance of earning the job this offseason.
He was signed by the New York Jets in 2013 as an undrafted free agent and spent his first year in the league on the practice squad before appearing in five games last season. He is not much of a pass-catcher, but he was viewed as a solid blocker coming out of Boston College.
Miller is an intriguing option because of what he can bring as a pass-catcher, but given Gase's history, the team may value pass-blockers more.
Rosario seems like a logical fit because he played for head coach John Fox in both Carolina and Denver, but Pascoe may be the best option moving forward. He is not a flashy tight end, but according to Pro Football Focus, he finished last season with a plus-4.3 run-block grade after registering a plus-6.5 grade in 2013.
If Gase decides he prefers blockers over receivers at the tight end position, Pascoe looks to have the best shot of claiming the backup role behind Bennett this season.
Projected Winner: Bear Pascoe
4. Nickelback
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The Bears planned on using Jennings in the slot last season in the nickel package, but an injury to Charles Tillman in Week 2 forced Jennings to remain outside all season long.
Undrafted free agent Demontre Hurst took over the nickelback position following Tillman's injury, and he finished the season with a minus-1.8 overall grade but registered a plus-2.4 grade against the run, according to Pro Football Focus.
During defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's time with the San Francisco 49ers, he leaned on versatile safeties to play out of the slot in the team's nickel package.
The 49ers took former Northern Illinois safety Jimmie Ward in the first round last year, and the former Huskie started the season as the nickelback. He eventually injured his foot and went on injured reserve after appearing in just eight games.
During Ward's time at Northern Illinois, he played both safety and cornerback, and Fangio has typically leaned toward players with that skill set to play nickelback in his system.
While Hurst will have a chance to reclaim his spot this offseason, he may face stiff competition from safeties Brock Vereen and Adrian Amos.
Vereen was drafted in the fourth round in 2014 and registered 39 tackles, one forced fumble and one interception last season. He was used primarily at free safety last year, but he played both cornerback and nickelback at the University of Minnesota.
In training camp last summer, Vereen lined up with the first team at free safety, and then-defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was impressed with the former Golden Gopher.
“Brock has done a nice job,” Tucker said at the time, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. “He has great attention to detail. He’s very sound from a technique standpoint. He’s smart; he plays fast. He does not make a lot of mistakes. That’s good to see."
He struggled at times last season, but he may be able to thrive at the nickelback position in the team's 3-4 defense. He played well against the run in 2014 and displayed a smooth backpedal in pass coverage, but he will need to work on his timing and instincts in order to grab the nickelback spot in training camp.
Like Vereen, Amos has experience lining up at cornerback. Chicago selected him in the fifth round of this year's draft out of Penn State, and while he is listed as a free safety, he could also make the transition to nickelback this offseason.
"He's a big safety-corner, nickelback and special teams player," said Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage about Amos, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. "If you can do all those things, he's not going to have any problem in the NFL."
He is rangy and athletic, but he tends to take chances and will have to refine his footwork in order to be successful in the NFL.
While Vereen and Amos have a lot of upside, they both will need to refine their play in order to claim the nickelback spot out of training camp. They could potentially fight for playing time later in the season, but Hurst's experience at the position should help him earn the job out of training camp.
Projected Winner: Demontre Hurst
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3. Center
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The Bears released veteran center Roberto Garza earlier this offseason and quickly signed veteran Will Montgomery to replace him.
Montgomery has bounced around the league since being drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2006, but he has started 71 games in his career, including eight last season for Fox in Denver.
He admitted his familiarity with Fox and the team's coaching staff played a big part in his decision to sign with the Bears, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
"They believe in me and they’re interested in me. Also, I like what they’re all about. Fox has been a great coach (for) years. [Offensive coordinator] Adam Gase is a head coach in the making, and obviously [offensive line coach] Dave Magazu, too, has been around as a very good coach. It definitely has been a privilege to play for those guys.
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According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just one sack and four quarterback hurries in 665 snaps last season.
Montgomery appeared to be a lock to start at center in 2015 for the Bears after his signing, but the team added competition to the position by drafting Oregon center Hroniss Grasu in the third round of this year's draft.
A four-year starter for the Ducks, Grasu is an athletic center who has the ability to get out into space and open up holes in the running game.
"His ability to get to the second level is phenomenal," Gase said about Grasu, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. "That's kind of what we were looking for and that's why it was such a good pick for us."
Grasu is athletic for the position, but he will need to refine his technique and get stronger in order to be successful in pass protection.
He could potentially take over the starting center job in training camp, but the Bears may try to ease him into the offense and rely on Montgomery to hold down the position when the season starts.
Projected Winner: Will Montgomery
2. No. 2 Running Back
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There is no doubt Matt Forte will be the team's starting running back in 2015, but the No. 2 running back position appears to be wide open.
This offseason, the Bears signed veteran running back Jacquizz Rodgers in free agency and drafted Michigan State's Jeremy Langford in the fourth round to compete with Ka'Deem Carey and Senorise Perry to be Forte's backup.
Carey spent last season as the No. 2 on Chicago's depth chart, but he carried the ball just 36 times for 158 yards. The Bears leaned heavily on Forte last season, but Fox hinted the team will try to keep players fresh at the position, according to Dickerson:
"We've always been believers in kind of a one-two punch and rolling guys through there whether it's the defensive line; a wave of those guys to stay fresh. I've always had the approach the same thing with running backs. But as I tell guys they pick the team -- how they perform -- and it will be no different at running back, who that guy is and how dependable he is and if he earns that number of reps to get in. We're early in the process and hopefully somebody kind of sets themselves out.
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Behind Forte, Rodgers is the most experienced running back on Chicago's roster. In four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, he registered 1,116 rushing yards on 305 carries with five touchdowns, and he also caught 155 passes for 1,104 yards and five touchdowns.
Rodgers is explosive through the hole and is a reliable target in the passing game, but he excels in pass protection and should be used as a third-down back in Gase's system. He could potentially earn the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Forte, but the No. 2 spot will likely come down to a competition between Carey and Langford.
Langford rushed for 2,944 yards with 40 touchdowns between 2013 and 2014, and he possesses good hands and is effective in pass protection.
While Carey is more of a between-the-tackles runner, Langford has the ability to bounce outside, and his 4.42 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine in February was the fastest among all running backs, according to NFL.com.
The running back position was not Chicago's biggest area of need heading into the draft, but the selection of Langford in the fourth round shows the team is not completely comfortable with Carey moving forward. He has the potential to develop into a solid option in the NFL, but he will need a strong camp to beat out Langford for the No. 2 job behind Forte.
Projected Winner: Jeremy Langford
1. Inside Linebacker
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The one position on defense with the most questions marks this offseason for the Bears is inside linebacker.
As it currently stands, Mason Foster, Jon Bostic, Christian Jones and Shea McClellin are all expected to compete for the two starting inside linebacker positions this offseason.
Foster signed a one-year deal with the Bears in March after spending the last four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has never played in a 3-4 defense before, but former Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik thinks Foster can play in any scheme.
"The good thing about Mason is not only can he play in the 4-3 as a 'Mike' (middle) or a 'Sam' (strong side), but he can play in the 3-4 at either middle linebacker spot," Dominik said, per Ross Jones of Fox Sports. "He has versatility to play for just about any defense in the league."
Foster is good against the run and is at his best playing sideline to sideline. He has the best chance to claim one of the team's two starting inside linebacker spots, but the other spot appears to be wide open.
Chicago took Bostic in the second round of the 2013 draft, and he played both middle linebacker and strong-side linebacker in Chicago's Cover 2 defense, but he will need to improve against the pass in order to be effective at inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.
McClellin was initially drafted as an outside linebacker/defensive end in 2012, but he will be moving to inside linebacker this offseason.
"The transition is we’re going to start him inside because it’s a harder position to learn as far as run fits and how they set in there,” Fox said about McClellin earlier this offseason, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times.
McClellin struggled at strong-side linebacker last season, but he did show some improvement against the run, and he may be able to succeed if given the chance to attack the quarterback from the inside linebacker position.
The one wild card at the position is former Florida State linebacker Christian Jones. He appeared in all 16 games for the Bears last season and registered 69 tackles and two sacks. He has good range, is effective against the run and also has the ability to get after the quarterback.
"He has good instincts," Fangio said about Jones, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. "He can run. He could be a good blitzer from in there. Just a little bit of everything."
Jones is still a bit raw, but he has the speed and athleticism that are desired at the position in a 3-4 defense. Barring any sort of injuries, Foster and Jones stand the best chance of coming out of training camp as the team's starters at inside linebacker.
Projected Winners: Mason Foster and Christian Jones
Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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